Water-use efficiency of Australian tropical trees: mechanistic analysis at multiple scales. The proposed research will provide valuable information about the physiological functioning of trees in northern Australia. Experiments will elucidate mechanisms that can result in variation in water-use efficiency among different tree species. Such a mechanistic understanding will have multiple benefits: (1) results will be able to be incorporated into process-based models of carbon and water cycling ....Water-use efficiency of Australian tropical trees: mechanistic analysis at multiple scales. The proposed research will provide valuable information about the physiological functioning of trees in northern Australia. Experiments will elucidate mechanisms that can result in variation in water-use efficiency among different tree species. Such a mechanistic understanding will have multiple benefits: (1) results will be able to be incorporated into process-based models of carbon and water cycling in the north-Australian landscape; (2) they will provide valuable information for land managers interested in optimizing both plant biomass production and water resource management; and (3) they will provide a critical test of proxy methods for identifying high water-use efficiency in taxonomically diverse tree species.Read moreRead less
Applying macroecology to assist in the management of Kakadu National Park. The ecological integrity of Kakadu National Park is threatened by fires, weeds, and feral animals. To help tackle these problems, we will develop a cost-effective, culturally appropriate, park-wide monitoring system based on changes in the boundaries of closed forests, woodland and grassland. We will gauge the effect of broad-scale land management interventions, and predict the consequences of future change. The findings ....Applying macroecology to assist in the management of Kakadu National Park. The ecological integrity of Kakadu National Park is threatened by fires, weeds, and feral animals. To help tackle these problems, we will develop a cost-effective, culturally appropriate, park-wide monitoring system based on changes in the boundaries of closed forests, woodland and grassland. We will gauge the effect of broad-scale land management interventions, and predict the consequences of future change. The findings of this study will be transferable to other landscape settings in Australia and overseas. It will contribute to debates about the ecological consequences of current land management practices and how these compare with past Aboriginal land management.Read moreRead less
Landscape-scale population dynamics of open forests in the Australian monsoon tropics. Over the last century there has been a trend of increasing tree cover in many landscapes. Yet the causes of this globally important ecological phenomenon are poorly understood, but may include the effects of climate, fire, grazing and CO2. We will determine how an area of forest has changed over 50 years in Kakadu National Park, linking forest demography with remote sensing techniques, re-measurement and analy ....Landscape-scale population dynamics of open forests in the Australian monsoon tropics. Over the last century there has been a trend of increasing tree cover in many landscapes. Yet the causes of this globally important ecological phenomenon are poorly understood, but may include the effects of climate, fire, grazing and CO2. We will determine how an area of forest has changed over 50 years in Kakadu National Park, linking forest demography with remote sensing techniques, re-measurement and analysis of long-term tree demography datasets, and simulation models of tree population dynamics on a landscape scale. This will provide a scientific framework to develop sustainable land management and the conservation of Australia's forest biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Assessing the viability of ecosystem processes in habitat fragments: lessons from land-clearing in the tropical savannas. Climate change and land degradation in southern Australia is increasing the demand for agricultural land in northern Australia. Broad scale land-clearing is prohibited in all Australian jurisdictions apart from the Northern Territory. However, our understanding of the impact of fragmentation on ecosystems processes in tropical savannas is poor. This research will set new stan ....Assessing the viability of ecosystem processes in habitat fragments: lessons from land-clearing in the tropical savannas. Climate change and land degradation in southern Australia is increasing the demand for agricultural land in northern Australia. Broad scale land-clearing is prohibited in all Australian jurisdictions apart from the Northern Territory. However, our understanding of the impact of fragmentation on ecosystems processes in tropical savannas is poor. This research will set new standards in pursuit of sustainability and conservation objectives within a regional planning context for northern Australian landscapes. We aim to contribute to a sustainability framework and integrated planning process for tropical savannas, so that it reaches its agricultural potential in a sustainable way, while maintaining the area's natural systems and biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775760
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$101,967.00
Summary
Satellite remote sensing and GIS data processing facilities at Charles Darwin University, Darwin. Northern Australia is vast, remote and spreads across diverse and extensive landscapes. There is no centralised remote sensing and GIS facility within 2000 kilometres of the CDU, Darwin. The upgraded infrastructure at CDU will assist in strengthening the research base in this remote part of Australia. This will allow the NT researchers to focus on the environmental applications of remote sensing and ....Satellite remote sensing and GIS data processing facilities at Charles Darwin University, Darwin. Northern Australia is vast, remote and spreads across diverse and extensive landscapes. There is no centralised remote sensing and GIS facility within 2000 kilometres of the CDU, Darwin. The upgraded infrastructure at CDU will assist in strengthening the research base in this remote part of Australia. This will allow the NT researchers to focus on the environmental applications of remote sensing and GIS technologies which will have many community benefits through better management of water resources, land degradation, wetlands, cultural knowledge and sustainable use of Australian biodiversity. The infrastructure will also assist in the training of new researchers within this developing field.
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